In article >,
Chemiker > wrote:

> Sunbeam licensed its logo to Petters (and others) to sell products.
> "In the expectation that they would adhere to the same high standards,
> yada yada yada."

I had a similar experience with a Koss branded home theater system. It
was identical to the Oritron models both sold at Best Buy, both for
about the same price. I got lucky in that the US headquarters were here
in St. Louis, and I established a good relationship with several
executives at their US HQ. Long story short, as a result of my
relationship, when my unit died two days out of warranty, they exchanged
me not for an identical unit but for the next unit up the model line.
That unit lasted almost three years. But along the way I was driving by
the US HQ and saw something that seemed odd to me, so I looped in and
discovered the US HQ was vacant, and a court serving was taped to the
front door.

A little research online revealed that Koss Home Electronics was a
license for the name to Consumer Electronics Corporation of China. Koss
pulled the license agreement due to excessive poor quality and its
impact on the real Koss Corporation. I knew that repair was no longer
an option, and over the next couple months, landed a nice Magnavox
surround sound amp at a garage and JVC upconvert DVD via a special
purchase at Aldi's (go fig). When the Koss did die (anticipated), I
swapped things off and all is well.

But yes, not just on cooking items, but anything of major value. Before
buying, take advantage of the power of a properly harvested internet to
do your homework. It can save you money and grief later on. And if you
discover questionable things like Chemiker's Sunbeam or my Koss Home
Electronics, spread the word and save others undue agony.

jt